Deviance

Deviance is violating a social norm, and normally when I think people are violating a social norm it is a bad thing. I think the word has a negative connotation, but today in class I realized that violating a norm can be positive too. It can be a random act of kindness, and just something that isn't normally expected. One example is buying someone coffee. At, first I found that somewhat creepy. If someone did that for I would think what's up with this person? Why would they feel they need to buy coffee for me? What do they want from me? But, I started thinking just simply buying a random stranger coffee who looked really wore down and tired would be a really nice thing that doesn't normally happen. I think what constitutes deviance varies from person to person. When I wanted to get a second ear piercing, and a cartilage piercing my dad was really against. He thought that it would look bad, and unacceptable, but I think that piercings have become more acceptable and not considered very deviant. Although I think it would be deviant if I got like 50 piercings all over my face.So, deviance varies by person and changes over time.